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Elrena Evans

Website of author Elrena Evans

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I write regularly for The Mudroom, In Touch, and other places. Welcome!

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Leave a Comment on I write regularly for The Mudroom, In Touch, and other places. Welcome!November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 By elrenaevans

On Sabbath Joys and Small Leaks

Beware of little expenses. Small leaks will sink great ships. Like too many people I know, the concept of “Sabbath” is difficult for me. Perhaps I’ve sold out to the belief that my inherent worth is directly related to what I can achieve…or perhaps I’m …

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Leave a Comment on On Sabbath Joys and Small LeaksNovember 5, 2019November 27, 2019 By elrenaevans

Seeing Jesus in Unexpected Places

This is the baritone played in fourth grade band by the kid who got kicked out of kindergarten. This is the Book Club selection read by the kid who got kicked out of kindergarten. These are the Math Club cards owned by the kid who …

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Leave a Comment on Seeing Jesus in Unexpected PlacesOctober 11, 2019November 27, 2019 By elrenaevans

Despair and Fuzzy Blankets

Stripped of a fundamental understanding of who (or whose) we are, living in a world where “Everything is possible, and nothing is prohibited,” our accomplishments fail to bring us any meaningful satisfaction or fulfillment. We never feel as if we are “good enough,” we never …

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Leave a Comment on Despair and Fuzzy BlanketsOctober 5, 2019October 5, 2019 By elrenaevans

Common Prayer and Common Life

Give them grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize and acknowledge their fault, and to seek each other’s forgiveness and yours. Give us grace, Lord, to do what seems impossible. If this beautiful language was written as a goal on an IEP, I would …

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Leave a Comment on Common Prayer and Common LifeSeptember 5, 2019September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

BronyCon and Belonging

Perhaps because I’m a dancer and have spent much of my life on the stage, the leap to cosplay doesn’t seem too great a jump. When my eldest daughter, then twelve, began begging me to take her to BronyCon a few years ago, I spent …

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Leave a Comment on BronyCon and BelongingAugust 5, 2019September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

The Ten-Year Challenge

Sometimes I think God was communicating everything I needed to know about my son right there in the delivery room. I don’t often ascribe these types of messages to the Divine—that’s not how I’ve ever experienced my faith—but if that was how I experience my faith, I …

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Leave a Comment on The Ten-Year ChallengeJuly 8, 2019September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

A Prayer for My Children’s Teachers at the End of the School Year

I see how these amazing women and men are in there, day in and day out, giving their all—not only for my kids, but for entire classrooms. And I know (firsthand!) how some of those kids can try their patience ceaselessly and probably make them wish …

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Leave a Comment on A Prayer for My Children’s Teachers at the End of the School YearMay 25, 2019September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

See the Good First

“I had such a lovely time with your children,” my friend said. “Truly lovely. We had a wonderful conversation over dinner.” This surprised me. Some of my children have special needs, and all of my children are pretty quirky. Being good dinner conversationalists isn’t something I usually …

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Leave a Comment on See the Good FirstApril 25, 2019September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

Washing Feet

My daughter’s eyes are wide as she enters the sanctuary. This place, so familiar to her, is incongruent at night in its somber hush. With the exception of a tiny baby wrapped securely on his mother’s back in a sling, she is the youngest person …

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Leave a Comment on Washing FeetMarch 29, 2019September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

Psalm of Praise: A Meditation

Too often, I forget to praise. Surrounded by the scarred remains of what once was Eden, praise seems almost out of place—something frivolous, superfluous. Shouldn’t I be doing more serious things with my time? And yet. The God who calls me to repent and lament …

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Leave a Comment on Psalm of Praise: A MeditationJanuary 11, 2019September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

A Christmas Eve Reflection

God, we are weary. We have traveled for many miles, and we still aren’t home. Your timing is not our timing, Lord; and so often, we wonder where you are.   Read more at Evangelicals for Social Action

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Leave a Comment on A Christmas Eve ReflectionDecember 24, 2018September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

Me and My Drum

If my son had been there, in Bethlehem, on the night Jesus was born, he absolutely would have brought a drum to play for the baby. He would have banged on it with all his heart, an earnest little misfit bringing the best gift he …

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Leave a Comment on Me and My DrumDecember 14, 2018September 6, 2019 By elrenaevans

Ode to Pointe Shoes

They hang on a hook in my small closet, which ordinarily has no space for sentimentality. Dancers often refer to old pointe shoes as “dead,” a quirk that has transcended every city, every state, every country where I’ve danced: “My shoes are dead.” And my …

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Leave a Comment on Ode to Pointe ShoesNovember 21, 2018December 3, 2018 By elrenaevans

Giving Like a Child

“How was the concert?” I asked my two eldest children as they trooped through the door in the wee hours of the morning. “I loved it!” my 14-year-old enthused. “And now I need to make $40 a month, because I signed up to sponsor a little boy …

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Leave a Comment on Giving Like a ChildNovember 20, 2018December 4, 2018 By elrenaevans

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